The stomping of feet and the constant huffs and puffs to the finish, you can feel the pressure, the determination, and see the pain in their eyes to the finish line ahead.
Cross country is an intense sport that requires a lot of physical and mental effort. Athletes run up to 7 miles a day to prepare for their races. Varsity races are 5ks while Jv runs a 2 mile course.
The district 13-6A Cross country meet is this morning at College Park.
Cross country starts long before the season officially begins. Athletes continuously train all year long to prepare for about a month of competing.
“During preseason I run weekly and train with my team.” sophomore Laura Barcenas said. I also make sure to eat healthy so that I’m feeling good during the season”
During cross country season the constant training and working out takes a physical toll on cross country athletes. In order to race well they need to be able to recover from the weeks training.
“Usually the night before a race I like to stretch,” junior Caroline Hopwood said.
“I also make sure there’s nothing wrong with my legs, if there’s soreness or tightness I make sure to loosen that out and then take an ice bath the day before”
Not only does cross country have a huge physical toll on athletes It also is very mental. The Brain is constantly sending signals of pain trying to stop the athletes from continuing.
“I picture the toughest parts of my race,” junior Maribel Vazquez said. “I give myself good things to look forward to in the moment and just be grateful that I’m there able to run”
There are many ways runners can use to calm themselves before a race so the mental toll doesn’t affect their performance as much.
“I like to get a good night’s sleep and then on the bus ride, listening to music always helps” senior Lukas Cruz Said.
The day before a race can invoke a lot of feelings in runners because of the unknown activities to come that day or the day of the race.
“The day before a meet I feel very nervous and anxious. Every meet has different courses, number of people,and different temperatures.This makes it hard to know what to expect.
While there is a lot of negative feelings involved before a runner’s next meet, there are still some positive emotions that come with competing in a meet.
“Partially nervous but mainly excited to see if ill do well” Senior Cruz said
Coaches have a big influence on athletes and preparing them for competing and discipline in their life.
“We have burpy laps to hold athletes accountable for school and sports.” Coach Breed said. “It puts students in a position where they have to think about something before they do it. Coming from a place of love helps the consequence, there is no malicious intent because I love you and want you to succeed and the world needs a little bit of that sometimes”
Good Leadership is important to the improvement of athletes and the effort they put in on a daily basis.
“Getting 100% of a athletes ability comes from the saying the attitude reflects their leadership. If I’m coming in with an ‘I want to get better attitude or energy’ it rubs off on athletes.” Breed said. “They buy into it because they want to be good. I have to have that competitive attitude and bring the energy to just be a beacon of this is what it looks like to get better every day.”
How a coach treats their athletes has a monumental impact on students which can be negative or positive.
“The words you say have a lot of impact because you need to be able to encourage athletes.” Breed said. “I don’t want to be a coach that says you suck all the time instead say you’re doing good when they improve even by a little. This positive outlook on everything no matter what and finding some good out of everything.”
